Play, School and Society

Play is central to the ideas of George Herbert Mead and fundamental to the emergence of all social behavior. It is formative in the genesis of self-consciousness and a pathway connecting intersubjectivity and emotions. The child’s play calls out the parental attitude, and this relationship becomes a model for the community and society. Mead’s ideas emerged from an interacting circle of scholars and activists in Chicago including John Dewey, Jane Addams, and Mary McDowell.